'has been operating since 1928 in what must be one of the most dangerous industries in operation in New South Wales. The prior record must also take into account the large size of the defendant's workplace and the number of work sites it has had in New South Wales in that period.
9 Various subjective factors were accepted as being relevant to penalty, by way of mitigation. I will deal with those matters below.
10 For the defendant, it was submitted by Mr Buchanan of Queens Counsel, that while the defendant accepted entirely that a guilty plea was appropriately entered in the circumstances in which the risk in question here materialised, the suggestion that this offence fell into the serious range, was not to properly recognise the criminality of the offences in question. The defendant's criminality was not of a high order and ought to result in a moderate penalty at most.
11 The evidence showed that the defendant paid extremely serious attention to its obligations under the Act. It had adequate safety measures in place, which had only proved inadequate, because of the interaction of two unusual circumstances, which the defendant accepted it had not adequately provided for in the applicable safety procedures. This was not a case, however, of careless or inadequate approach by the defendant to its obligation to ensure safety. As to its record, the defendant accepted the prosecutor's submission as a fair one. That record did not suggest any disregard for the defendant's safety record.
12 Also to be considered was that exposure to carbon monoxide was an everyday feature of life which raised no safety issues. In this case, it was that excessive exposure had resulted from an unusual combination of circumstances, not any systemic failure in the applicable safety system. The seriousness of the potential consequences of exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide was not sought to be discounted, but it was submitted that what had occurred needed to be considered in its proper context, when penalty was being considered.
13 Having regard to the evidence as to this defendant's approach to its safety obligations, it was submitted that specific deterrence had but a small role to play in the sentence imposed and that it did not serve the policy objectives of the Act, to impose a punishment by way of general deterrence on defendants 'who try hard to stay at the top of the responsible efforts in this area.' It was argued that the sentencing process ought to encourage such observance, by appropriate account being taken of that evidence.
Consideration
14 Consistently with the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, a determination of the sentence here to be imposed must be approached from a consideration of the nature and seriousness of the offences in question, together with aggravating and mitigating factors. In this case, I am satisfied that the evidence demonstrated, to the requisite degree, that the offences charged were each proven.
15 The gas which was released on 11 April had various components, including carbon monoxide. The risk which materialised, namely exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide gas for an excessive amount of time, was a serious one, given the potential consequences of such exposure. That the defendant appreciated the existence of that risk and took a number of steps to ensure that it did not materialise, was plainly established. It follows that the risk in question was foreseen.
16 The evidence was that ordinarily, release of the gas from the precipitator tank occurred while the precipitator was being taken off line, during a process which took about 14 seconds. On this occasion, that process had to be undertaken because a gas leak had been detected in the precipitator. This itself was an unusual occurrence, but the decision was made to repair the leak, outside the normal maintenance schedule. Given the defendant's safety obligations, it seems to me that this was an understandable decision.
17 A risk assessment of the work was undertaken. The system under which the work was performed as a result, ensured that employees performing the work which gave rise to the gas release were not put at risk thereby, because of the safety equipment which they wore - full face self contained breathing apparatus. The defendant's experience was that prevailing atmospheric conditions were normally sufficient to disperse the usual 14 second gas release, so that others outside the precipitator not wearing such protective equipment, were not put at any risk by its release. Other employees in the vicinity were alerted by alarms to clear the area 10 minutes before and for 10 minutes after the release and two Serco employees were stationed at roadblocks nearby, to help ensure that the area was kept clear.
18 What the system failed to adequately provide for however, materialised on 11 April. Firstly, the mechanism involved in releasing the gas jammed, so that an uncontrolled release of gas resulted, for a period of 3 to 4 minutes, rather than the usual 14 seconds. Such a problem had never arisen before with that mechanism. The resulting release of gas and its consequences, were exacerbated by the unusually still atmospheric conditions prevailing that day. The conjunction of those two factors had the result that instead of a small amount of gas dispersing quickly, a large amount of gas remained at a level which permitted it to enter the blast furnace, where a number of people were working on the cast house floor, as well as escaping into the area surrounding the precipitator, where other people were manning a roadblock.
19 In the blast furnace, fixed gas monitors detected when carbon monoxide levels in the plant reached 30 parts per million ('ppm'). Those detectors did not however, measure how concentrated the carbon monoxide was. That proved to be a deficiency in the circumstances which unfolded. The defendant's system involved that once that level of gas was detected by the monitors, alarms sounded, warning that those working in the area should evacuate and if this was not possible, for contact to be made with the control room, which dispatched an inspector to take a reading of the gas level. The system then required that if the level exceeded 100 ppm, there was an evacuation of all workers, other than those equipped with the necessary safety equipment, who would then remain to safely secure the blast furnace.
20 On this occasion, the system failed to ensure the safety of those working in the blast furnace. While the alarms sounded, once carbon monoxide levels reached 30 ppm, there was neither an evacuation, or the donning of the necessary safety equipment, before three people working in the blast furnace were affected by carbon monoxide gas. As a result, Mr Graham experienced dizziness and nausea, became disoriented and collapsed, while trying to make his way to the control room. Mr Russoniello experienced dizziness and collapsed near his workstation. Mr Gianfrancesco fell over, after moving away from the cast house floor, breaking his right ring finger and suffering abrasions to various parts of his body. None of these people were equipped with a personal gas monitor or with breathing equipment. Their exposure to the gas was at sufficiently high levels and for a sufficiently long enough period of time, to permit them to be poisoned.
21 Two other people had been provided with personal gas monitors, before the gas was released. They were stationed outside the blast furnace, at the roadblocks established in the vicinity. Mr Segovic left that area, as the defendant had earlier instructed, once his personal gas monitor registered a level exceeding 200 ppm. While not mentioned in the agreed statement of facts, the prosecutor submitted and the defendant accepted as correct, that his monitor had recorded a reading of 2,000 ppm. He reported feeling sick in the stomach. Mr Edwards, manning the other roadblock, recorded no carbon monoxide levels on his monitor, but he also moved away and joined Mr Segovic. Mr Edwards was sent to provide assistance with those who had been affected by the gas inside the blast furnace.
22 What levels of carbon monoxide the various people inside the blast furnace were exposed to and for how long, was not established on the evidence. The reading of 2000 ppm outside the blast furnace in the open air, throws some light on that matter, as do various documents in evidence.
23 The defendant's 2001 material safety data sheet records that the blast furnace gas is hazardous; that it is toxic by inhalation and that 'symptoms of acute poisoning may include headache, dizziness, disorientation, abnormal reflexes, difficult concentration, fainting, oedema, coma, seizures and death'. Fortunately the most severe of these symptoms were not suffered by those exposed to the gas on 11 April.
24 The data sheet also contains guidelines which provide that the exposure limit for carbon monoxide is 30 ppm, and that in order 'to control short term excursions above this limit, based on the toxicokinetic properties of carbon monoxide', exposure should not exceed 400 ppm and otherwise at 200 ppm, exposure for 15 minutes, at 100 ppm, 30 minutes and at 60 ppm, 60 minutes.
25 This no doubt explains why the gas monitors inside the blast furnace are designed to detect and warn that carbon monoxide levels have reached 30 ppm in the blast furnace. It also explains why the defendant's system proved to be inadequate, in ensuring safety in the circumstances as they developed. The gas levels inside the blast furnace must have climbed considerably higher than the 400 ppm limit provided by the guidelines, given the way in which the three people initially inside the blast furnace were affected. Such ill effects were what the guidelines sought to prevent.
26 A graph charting the effect of carbon monoxide shows that at 10,000 ppm, death occurs in minutes; at 5,000 ppm collapse occurs in minutes and at 1,000 ppm, headache and nausea occurs in minutes.
27 The Australian Government's National Occupational Health and Safety Commission Exposure Standard for Carbon Monoxide, indicates that high levels of carbon monoxide 'are likely to lead to unconsciousness and convulsions. Collapse may occur very quickly, before the victim is aware of impending danger'. The Standard also warns that individuals' responses to carbon dioxide may vary and that response may be exacerbated, in those with cardiovascular conditions.
28 It is these effects of exposure to carbon monoxide which pinpoints the nature of the failure in the defendant's systems, because two of those working inside the blast furnace were affected to the point of collapse and the other sufficiently overcome to fall and injure himself. In those circumstances, the way in which the system provided for the actual carbon monoxide levels inside the plant to be established, was plainly inadequate in a situation where gas levels rose suddenly, when a prolonged uncontrolled gas leak occurred.
29 The applicable written procedure also proved to be deficient. It provided that: